


Stolen Silver Coins

by catlikeacat



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28964073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catlikeacat/pseuds/catlikeacat
Summary: Aerith’d caught sight of the suit a while back. Always stood out when she managed to squirm her way down to the slums.Every time she got out she was dragged back by some Turk. Some would try and be nice, some would wordlessly grab her and go.Now what of this guy?He was new. Or at least Aerith didn’t recognize him and he didn't look terribly friendly.
Kudos: 9





	Stolen Silver Coins

**Author's Note:**

> john mulaney "no!" voice: making my first ff7 fanfic about any of the popular ships i like  
> john mulaney "yeah!" voice: making my first ff7 fanfic a genfic about aerith's one-off line in remake that rude isn't a bad guy
> 
> it's the first fanfic I've written in like two months but i'm very happy with it
> 
> also the first ff7 fanmedia i've made in (checks watch) over a decade
> 
> the timeline is 2 years off from when rude and reno become partners in canon but riddle me this i have a license to do what i want and i wanted aerith to not be a teen yet

Aerith’d caught sight of the suit a while back. Always stood out when she managed to squirm her way down to the slums. Everyone else in patchwork, mismatched clothes comprised of whatever they were able to scrape together.

Everytime Aerith got out she was dragged back by some Turk. Some would try and be nice, some would wordlessly grab her and go, some were too rough with her but those never seemed to show up again. Seems even Shinra doesn’t like their people jerking a little twelve-year-old girl after them like a ragdoll. Bad PR.

Now what of this guy?

He was new. Or at least Aerith didn’t recognize him.

Tall, muscular bald guy with sunglasses, sun glinting off them threateningly.

Yeah, he didn’t look terribly friendly. The air of professionalism to his steps said he probably wasn’t going to carry her off like a sack of potatoes but the expressionless stare meant he also probably wasn’t going to be her new best friend either.

Aerith picked up the pace, squeezing sideways through a couple workers.

The bald man would catch her eventually, they always did. She knew her little escapades had a time limit but she just wanted to have a little fun before being dragged back to the cold, lonely laboratory.

Silver coins jingled in the pocket of her powder pink dress, burning a hole in it. She’d be stealing them off of Hojo’s desk all week and saving them up for this. Just enough to buy some sort of treat. Last time she’d escaped down here she’d seen a new little cafe being set up and she didn’t know what was in it but always welcomed a surprise.

So he couldn’t catch her, not yet. She had to lose him.

Every time Aerith twisted through the crowd, she stole a peek to see how far back he was. Knowing she couldn’t let the man know she knew he was there or the slow tracking would turn into a quick chase.

That’s what’d happened last time. Another new guy, a cagey looking red-head. He’d made her nervous and she’d made accidental eye contact and bolted. Normally she could at least buy some time with that but he’d shoved through the crowd and caught her in no time. Scooping her up backwards under the armpits and carrying her off like that. Complaining the whole way as she kicked him in the legs.

He would have complained much louder if she’d nailed her target. Luckily for him it’s really hard to kick backwards with any accuracy.

Another stolen glance. He was close. Aerith could see a narrow alleyway off the side, too narrow for anything but a scrawny kid. She took a chance and burst out of the crowd and crushed herself sideways through it. Giggling a bit as the man stepped into sight only to realize there was no way in hell he was going to be able to follow her.

He disappeared again and she just kept shuffling through, grin on her face.

There was a little bit of a commotion behind then above but she ignored it.

She shouldn’t have though, her would-be high pitched shriek cut short as the man seemed to materialize from nowhere as she popped out the other side. Clapping a hand over her mouth as he hoisted her off the ground with the other. Pilfered coins tinkling to the ground as she struggled.

Patiently he waited until she stopped thrashing around, kicks growing weaker until she went limp and defeated. Removing his hand and setting her down on the ground, still holding onto her wrist firmly, “You can pick up your coins if you don’t try to run away.”

For a second Aerith looked up at him petulantly but looking back down at her small treasures… she’d rather have them than not so she acquiesced quietly, “Okay…”

She crouched and gathered up her coins quickly, like he was going to change his mind and haul her away halfway through.

Sticking them in her pockets, she looked up at him, “What’s your name?”

It was one thing she always tried to demand of her captors. Made her feel less like a trapped lab rat if she at least knew who it was deciding her fate.

“Rude.”

“No, I’m being polite,” she pouted.

“My name is Rude.”

“You’ve got a weird name.”

The way he didn’t react said she wasn’t the first person to say this to him and wouldn’t be the last, “And you’ve got a weird collection there. Where did you get that money?”

She looked up, big-eyed and innocent. Cracking as he just stared back intently, Aerith’s face split into a mischievous grin.

“Alright,” he crossed his arms, accepting her non-answer, “Why do you have that money?”

She considered not answering that either but considering he was probably drilling for future chases she figured the truth wouldn’t hurt. It’s not the bus fare he thinks it is, at least.

“There’s a new cafe,” she pointed in the general direction, “Over there.”

He didn’t look, not about to fall for the oldest trick in the book.

“Bullshit.”

“Mom used to say if you swear too much your fingernails fall off.”

“Also bullshit.”

“I’m not lying,” she stood up, smoothing down her now-jingling dress, “I know… I’m not going to get away forever. So I try to just get away for a bit. Do something fun before one of you comes and chases me down.”

He was quiet for a bit, sizing up if he really did think it was bullshit or not.

Finally asking, “What did you get?”

“Nothing,” she replied, “You found me too fast.”

She sighed, slapping her cheeks a little and forcing a smile back onto her face before starting to walk back towards the way up to Shinra Headquarters

“Well, let’s get going. If I can’t get anything at the cafe I don’t want to miss dinner at home too.”

Aerith was stopped in her tracks by a strong hand on her shoulder. Looking up at him curiously.

“Where is it?”

\- - -

People stared at them as they walked past, the cutely dressed preteen girl nearly skipping along mismatched with the intimidating corporate suit following after.

The little cafe turned out to be mostly ice cream, a few other sweets. Rude couldn’t imagine why Aerith would run down here of all places, there was much nicer places topside that cost nearly the same and also had considerably less human trafficking.

Not none, but less. At least she wouldn’t be in the proximity of Wall Market.

But she seemed to be excited to order the fake, chemical-ridden strawberry parfait. Insisting he buy something for himself too.

He was considerably less excited for the certainly lackluster mint chocolate chip ice cream set in front of him. Frankly, he was a little bit disgusted, but he wasn’t about to stomp on the meager enjoyments of a child. And “meager” was definitely the right term, they were almost comically tiny.

First bite. Weakest mint he’d ever had, chocolate bits scarce and feeling like waxy plastic on his teeth.

Aerith was enjoying herself though, legs swinging dangerously close to kicking him in the shins repeatedly. Maybe more than just close. But the little kicks weren’t enough to hurt so he allowed it, even though he was fairly certain this was some kind of childish retaliation.

He also ignored the fact the kicks were getting a little harder each time.

“So why’d you join the Turks?” Aerith asked. A customary question from her, not that he knew that.

“None of your business.”

“Are you friends with any of the other Turks?”

“Was assigned a partner. Reno.”

“Sooo, he’s your friend?” she asked again, popping the nearly dehydrated strawberry from the top in her mouth.

“Yes.”

“What’s he look like? I might know him, I know a lot of Turks.”

Rude didn’t doubt that, he knew Aerith Retrieval Duty often fell to them, “Skinny guy, red hair. Tattoos on his face.”

“Oh, yeah, I met him last time I got out,” Aerith swung her legs harder against Rude’s shins, “He complained waaay more when I kicked him than you do.”

So it was intentional. Unsurprising.

“He complains a lot in general,” Rude moved his legs out of her meager kick range, “Try living with him.”

“I wish I had a roommate,” she idly mused, “I used to live with my mom but…”

Every higher up in Shinra knew how that ended.

He kept his mouth shut.

But she didn’t, scooping up the last bite with a grin, “Maybe I can befriend one of the weird dogs Hojo keeps.”

“Whatever you think is a ‘weird dog’, don’t go near it.”

“I bet they’d like the crusts from my sandwiches,” Aerith mimed tossing them over the cage.

“Aren’t you a little old to be cutting the crusts off your sandwiches? What are you, ten?”

An honest question, Rude wasn’t entirely sure how old the scrawny girl was supposed to be.

“I’m twelve.”

“You’re eight,” he shot back, taking a final tasteless bite, “Eat the crust.”

Their little argument was cut short by the waitress walking over in her somehow already faded uniform, holding their receipt in her surprisingly manicured hands, “How'd you like your treat and how will y’all be paying today?”

Reaching down, Aerith went to dig around in her pockets for the dirty, slightly damp coins but Rude was quicker on the draw. Pulling out a shiny black credit card emblazoned with the Shinra logo and handing it to the slightly bewildered woman.

For a second it looked like Aerith was going to complain out of some misplaced sense of not wanting to be in someone’s debt but what would he even collect on? Her dirty pocket change?

The walk back to her room in Hojo’s lab was dead silent.

\- - -

“Thanks,” Aerith finally said, standing at the door to her little room, “For paying for the ice cream. I hope they send you to drag me back more often.”

“Don’t think it’s going to become a habit,” he shot it down, “One time.”

Rocking on her heels, Aerith’s eyes looked too knowing as she confidently made a final statement before closing the door behind her.

“Yes it will.”

It felt like a prophecy.


End file.
